Softball

Ropiak Named NE-10 Pitcher Of The Week

Acton, Mass. native went 3-0 and struck out 13 batters over 16 shutout innings last week

EASTON, Mass. (April 14, 2015)– Stonehill College junior Sarah Ropiak (Acton, Massachusetts/Acton-Boxborough) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Week for softball, the league office announced yesterday.

Ropiak earns this recognition from the NE-10 for the first time in her career following a week in which she went 3-0 in three appearances, striking out 13 batters and allowing just eight hits over 16 shutout innings. The junior also walked five but did not allow an extra base hit while holding opponents to a .145 batting average.

Ropiak got the start in Stonehill's home opener against Merrimack on Friday afternoon and turned in a two-hit shutout, striking out six batters over seven innings and issuing three walks. She also came on in relief in game two with Stonehill leading 7-4 in the fourth and gave up just two hits the rest of the way to help the Skyhawks secure the doubleheader sweep.

Ropiak made her third and final appearance of the week on Sunday against Saint Michael's College, and posted a four-hit shutout as Stonehill cruised to an 8-0 victory in five innings.

In addition to her dominance in the circle last week, Ropiak also made an impact on offense, recording a walk and a single in addition to a pair of sacrifices and two runs.

Through 11 appearances and nine starts this spring, Ropiak is 7-4 with a 1.04 earned run average and 42 strikeouts in 67.1 innings of work, all of which lead the team. She has given up 16 runs (10 earned) on 46 hits while walking 15 batters and holding opponents to a .190 average.

Ropiak, who went 5-13 with a 4.58 ERA as a freshman at Division I Brown University, was 1-3 in five starts for Stonehill last season with a 6.14 ERA. A 2012 graduate of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Ropiak was a four-year letterwinner and three-time Dual County League (DCL) All-Star for the Colonials, earning DCL MVP honors as a senior. She was a member of teams that won four consecutive DCL Championships and the MIAA Division I North Championship in 2011.

Stonehill (11-9, 5-3 NE-10) is on the road today for a doubleheader at Saint Anselm College, before heading to Merrimack College for a single game on Thursday and Southern New Hampshire University for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday.